, native_name_link = , image_caption = Map of Chichijima, Anijima and Otoutojima , image_size = , pushpin_map = Japan complete , pushpin_label = Chichijima , pushpin_label_position = , pushpin_map_alt = , pushpin_relief = , pushpin_map_caption = , map_custom = , nickname = , location =

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

, coordinates = , archipelago =

Ogasawara Islands The Bonin Islands, also known as the , are an archipelago of over 30 subtropical and tropical islands, some directly south of Tokyo, Japan and northwest of Guam. The name "Bonin Islands" comes from the Japanese word ''bunin'' (an archaic readi ...

, total_islands = , major_islands = , area_km2 = 23.45 , length_km = , width_km = , coastline_km = , highest_mount = , elevation_m = 326 , country = Japan , country_admin_divisions_title = Prefecture , country_admin_divisions =

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, country_admin_divisions_title_1 =

Subprefecture A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province. Albania There are twelve Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several districts, sometimes translated as subprefectures. ...

, country_admin_divisions_1 =

Ogasawara Subprefecture is a subprefecture of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. The subprefecture covers the Ogasawara Archipelago and is coterminous with the village of Ogasawara. The prefectural government maintains a main office on Chichijima and a branch office on Hahajim ...

, country_admin_divisions_title_2 =

Village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

, country_admin_divisions_2 = Ogasawara , population = 2,120 , population_as_of = 2021 , density_km2 =90.4 , ethnic_groups =

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

, mixed , additional_info = , formerly known as Peel Island, is the largest

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

in the Ogasawara archipelago. Chichijima is about north of Iwo Jima. The island is within the political boundaries of Ogasawara Village,

, Japan. 2,120 people live on its land area of .

History

The first European discovery of the

is said to have taken place in 1549 by the Spanish explorer

Bernardo de la Torre Bernardo de la Torre was a Spanish sailor, primarily noted for having explored parts of the Western Pacific Ocean south of Japan in the 16th century. Bernardo de la Torre sailed under the instructions of Ruy López de Villalobos, who sent him in Au ...

. Archeological excavations show that Micronesians lived on the island in the past, though no details are yet known.小笠原・火山(硫黄)列島の歴史
/ref> The

Tokugawa Shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...

dispatched an expedition in 1675 and made a map of the island. It remained uninhabited until May 1830.

Nineteenth century

Western ships visited the island on several occasions in the 19th century, including: *The Beechey Pacific expedition on HMS ''Blossom'' in 1827 *Naturalist

Heinrich von Kittlitz Friedrich Heinrich, Freiherr von Kittlitz (16 February 1799 – 10 April 1874) was a Prussian artist, naval officer, explorer and naturalist. He was a descendant of a family of old Prussian nobility ("Freiherr" meaning "independent lord" - ranking w ...

in 1828 with the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

n ''Senjawin'' expedition, led by Captain

Fyodor Petrovich Litke Fyodor, Fedor (russian: Фёдор) or Feodor is the Russian form of the name " Theodore" meaning “God’s Gift”. Fedora () is the feminine form. Fyodor and Fedor are two English transliterations of the same Russian name. It may refer to: Gi ...

*A whaleship established an American colony in 1830. *Commodore Matthew Perry's U.S. expedition to Japan in 1853 *Naturalist

William Stimpson William Stimpson (February 14, 1832 – May 26, 1872) was a noted American scientist. He was interested particularly in marine biology. Stimpson became an important early contributor to the work of the Smithsonian Institution and later, dire ...

of the

Rodgers Rodgers is a patronymic surname of Old English origin derived from the Norman personal name "Roger", with the addition of the genitive suffix "-s" and meaning “son of Roger.” The intrusive “d” in Rodgers is either a Welsh or Scottish ...

- Ringgold

North Pacific Exploring and Surveying Expedition The North Pacific Exploring and Surveying Expedition, also known as the Rodgers-Ringgold Expedition was a United States scientific and exploring project from 1853 to 1856. Commander Cadwalader Ringgold (1802–1867) led the expedition until ...

came in 1854. Two shipwrecked sailors who were picked up by Beechey in 1827 suggested that the island would make a good stopover station for

whaler A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales. Terminology The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Japa ...

s due to natural springs found on the island. The first settlement on the island was established in May 1830 by 36-year-old

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

native

Nathaniel Savory Nathaniel Savory (1794 - 1874) was one of the first American colonists who is said to have settled on the Ogasawara Islands. He eventually became governor, and played an active role in government before and during the colonization by Japan. Lif ...

along with four other whites and 20 Hawaiian men and women from

Oahu Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O� ...

. Descendants of Nathaniel Savory and his group of settlers continue to live on the island, where they are now known as the "Oubeikei," or "Westerners." In 2012, just under 200 remained on the island. Commodore Perry's flagship ''Susquehanna'' anchored for 3 days in Chichijima's harbor on 15 June 1853, on the way to his historic visit to

Tokyo Bay is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan, and spans the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. The Tokyo Bay region is both the most populous ...

to open up the country to western trade. Perry also laid claim to the island for the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

for a coaling station for steamships, appointing Nathaniel Savory as an official agent of the US Navy and formed a governing council with Savory as the leader. On behalf of the US government, Perry "purchased" from Savory. On 17 January 1862, a Tokugawa Shogunate ship entered a harbor at Chichijima and officially proclaimed Japanese sovereignty over the Ogasawara Islands. Japanese immigrants were introduced from Hachijōjima under the direction of the Tokugawa Shogunate. Forty members of the Savory colony were allowed to stay on the island. Following the

Meiji restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

, a group of 37 Japanese colonists arrived on the island under the sponsorship of the Japanese

Home Ministry An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministr ...

in March 1876. The island was officially incorporated into

Tokyo Metropolis Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

on 28 October 1880.

Emperor Hirohito Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...

made an official visit to the island in 1927, aboard the battleship .

World War II

A small naval base had been established on Chichijima in 1914. The island was the primary site of long range Japanese radio stations during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, as well as being the central base of supply and communication between Japan and the Ogasawara Islands.Japanese Defense Plan for Chichi Jima
Peleliu: USMC WWII Combat ''website'' As behooved this status, it had the heaviest garrison in the Nanpō Shotō. According to one source: "At the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, an Army force of about 3,700-3,800 men garrisoned Chichi Jima. In addition, about 1,200 naval personnel manned the Chichi Jima Naval Base, a small seaplane base, the radio and weather station, and various gunboat, subchaser, and minesweeping units."Western Pacific Operations; History of U.S. Marine Corps in World War II - Part VI ''Iwo Jima''
Historical Branch, G3 Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine CorpsCoastDefense
(''Yahoo Groups'') The garrison also included a heavy artillery fortress regiment,
''The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia'' it was a frequent target of US attacks. A young George H. W. Bush was shot down while on one of these raids. In 1944, all of the 6,886 civilian inhabitants were ordered to evacuate from the Ogasawara islands. Japanese troops and resources from Chichijima were used in reinforcing the strategic point of Iwo Jima before the historic battle that took place there from 19 February to 24 March 1945. The island also served as a major point for Japanese radio relay communication and surveillance operations in the Pacific, with two radio stations atop its two mountains being the primary goal of multiple bombing attempts by the US Navy. Chichijima was also the subject of a book by

James Bradley James Bradley (1692–1762) was an English astronomer and priest who served as the third Astronomer Royal from 1742. He is best known for two fundamental discoveries in astronomy, the aberration of light (1725–1728), and the nutation of th ...

entitled '' Flyboys: A True Story of Courage'', a factual account of the lives of a group of young World War II pilots, including George H. W. Bush. The book tells the story of

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

pilots who bombed the island's two radio stations, and details the stories of the US pilots who were captured, tortured, executed, and in some cases, partially eaten in February 1945. The incident is called the Chichijima incident The island was never captured, and at the end of World War II, some 25,000 troops in the island chain surrendered. Thirty Japanese soldiers were court-martialled for class "B" war crimes, primarily in connection with the Chichijima incident and four officers (Major Matoba, General

Tachibana The term has at least two different meanings, and has been used in several contexts. People * – a clan of ''kuge'' (court nobles) prominent in the Nara and Heian periods (710–1185) * – a clan of ''daimyō'' (feudal lords) prominent in the Mu ...

, Admiral Mori, and Captain Yoshii) were found guilty and hanged. All enlisted men and Probationary Medical Officer Tadashi Teraki were released within 8 years. At least two US citizens of Japanese descent served in the Japanese military on Chichijima during the war, including Nobuaki "Warren" Iwatake, a Japanese-American from Hawaii who was drafted into the Japanese Imperial Army while living with his family back in Hiroshima. The United States maintained the former Japanese naval base and attached seaplane base after the war. During the war, the "Westerner" descendants of Savory's original settlers were viewed with suspicion, and forced to take Japanese names. Most were removed from the island in 1944 by the Japanese military, which saw them as potential spies.

Under United States sovereignty

After World War II, the

Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers was the title held by General Douglas MacArthur during the United States-led Allied occupation of Japan following World War II. It issued SCAP Directives (alias SCAPIN, SCAP Index Number) to the Japanese government, aiming to suppress its "milit ...

allowed only the 129 islanders of Western origin to go back to Chichijima in recognition of their mistreatment by wartime Japan. Other houses on the island were destroyed. In 1960, the harbor facilities were devastated by

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater exp ...

after the

Great Chilean earthquake The 1960 Valdivia earthquake and tsunami ( es, link=no, Terremoto de Valdivia) or the Great Chilean earthquake (''Gran terremoto de Chile'') on 22 May 1960 was the most powerful earthquake ever recorded. Various studies have placed it at 9.4– ...

. Several occupied islands, including Chichijima, were used by the United States in the 1950s to store

nuclear arms A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either nuclear fission, fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and nuclear fusion, fusion reactions (Thermonuclear weapon, thermonu ...

, according to Robert S. Norris, William M. Arkin, and William Burr, writing for the ''

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists The ''Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists'' is a nonprofit organization concerning science and global security issues resulting from accelerating technological advances that have negative consequences for humanity. The ''Bulletin'' publishes conte ...

'' in early 2000. This is despite the Japanese Constitution being explicitly anti-war. Japan holds

Three Non-Nuclear Principles Japan's are a parliamentary resolution (never adopted into law) that have guided Japanese nuclear policy since their inception in the late 1960s, and reflect general public sentiment and national policy since the end of World War II. The ten ...

. The island was returned to Japanese sovereignty in 1968. At that time, the "Westerner" islanders were allowed to choose either American or Japanese citizenship. Many of those who chose American citizenship are to this day allowed to regularly return to the island, where some run businesses during the summer tourist season.

Topography and climate

Chichijima is located at . Currently, around 2,000 people live on the island, and the island's area is about . On English maps from the early 19th century, the island chain was known as the

Bonin Islands The Bonin Islands, also known as the , are an archipelago of over 30 subtropical and tropical islands, some directly south of Tokyo, Japan and northwest of Guam. The name "Bonin Islands" comes from the Japanese word ''bunin'' (an archaic read ...

. The name Bonin comes from a French cartographer's corruption of the old Japanese word 'munin', which means 'no man', and the English translated it to "No mans land" islands. Note
Google review
/ref> The climate of Chichijima is on the boundary between a

tropical monsoon climate An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''Am''), a

tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate, humid tropical climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southea ...

(Köppen ''Af''), and a humid subtropical climate (Köppen ''Cfa''). Temperatures are warm to hot and humid all year round, and have certainly remained between owing to the warm currents from the North Pacific gyre that surround the island. Rainfall is, however, less heavy than in most parts of mainland Japan, since the island is too far south to be influenced by the

Aleutian Low The Aleutian Low is a semi-permanent low-pressure system located near the Aleutian Islands in the Bering Sea during the Northern Hemisphere winter. It is a climatic feature centered near the Aleutian Islands measured based on mean sea-level press ...

and too far from mainland Asia to receive monsoonal rainfall or orographic precipitation on the equatorward side of the

Siberian High The Siberian High (also Siberian Anticyclone; russian: Азиатский антициклон (''Aziatsky antitsiklon'')) is a massive collection of cold dry air that accumulates in the northeastern part of Eurasia from September until April. It ...

. Occasionally, very heavy cyclonic rain falls, as on 7 November 1997, when the island received its record daily rainfall of and monthly rainfall of .

Island development

Astronomy and telemetry stations

The Japanese

National Institute of Natural Sciences The (NINS) is an inter-university research institute corporation consisting of five member institutes: the National Astronomical Observatory (NAOJ), the National Institute for fusion Science (NIFS), the National Institute for Basic Biology (NI ...

(NINS) is the umbrella agency maintaining a radio astronomy facility on Chichijima. Since 2004, the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan ( NAOJ) has been a division of NINS. The NINS/NAQJ research is on-going using a

VLBI Very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) is a type of astronomical interferometry used in radio astronomy. In VLBI a signal from an astronomical radio source, such as a quasar, is collected at multiple radio telescopes on Earth or in space. T ...

Exploration of Radio Astronomy ( VERA) radio telescope. The dual-beam VERA array consists of four coordinated radio telescope stations located at Mizusawa, Iriki, Ishigakijima, and Ogasawara. The combined signals of the four-part array produce a correlated image which is used for deep space study. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency also maintains a facility on Chichijima. The Ogasawara Downrange Station at Kuwanokiyama was established in 1975 as a National Space Development Agency of Japan facility. The station is equipped with

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...

(rocket telemeter antenna and precision radar antenna) to check the flight trajectories, status, and safety of rockets launched from the

Tanegashima Space Center The (TNSC) is the largest rocket-launch complex in Japan with a total area of about 9.7 square kilometers. It is located on the southeast coast of Tanegashima, an island approximately south of Kyushu. It was established in 1969 when the ...

JMSDF facilities

From 1968, the

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force , abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) ...

(JMSDF) has operated the Chichijima Naval Base, along with the associated Chichijima Airfield, the latter including a heliport originally built during the American occupation, as well as seaplane facilities.

Wildlife

Birds

Possibly as a result of the introduction of nonindigenous animals, at least three species of birds became extinct: the Bonin nankeen night heron, the

Bonin grosbeak The Bonin grosbeak or Bonin Islands grosbeak (''Carpodacus ferreorostris'') is an extinct finch. It is one of the diverse bird taxa that are vernacularly called "grosbeaks", but it is not closely related to the grosbeaks ''sensu stricto''. Many ...

(a finch), and the

Bonin thrush The Bonin thrush (''Zoothera terrestris''), also known as Kittlitz's thrush or the Bonin Islands thrush, is an extinct species of Asian thrush. It is sometimes separated as the only species of the genus ''Cichlopasser''. The only place where th ...

. The island was the only known home of the thrush and probably the finch, although the heron was found on Nakōdojima (also "Nakoudo-" or "Nakondo-"), as well. The existence of the birds was documented by von Kittlitz in 1828, and five stuffed thrushes are in European museums. The

Bonin wood-pigeon The Bonin wood pigeon (''Columba versicolor'') was a pigeon endemic to Nakodo-jima and Chichi-jima in the Ogasawara Islands, south of Japan. It is known from four recorded specimens, the first from 1827 and the last from 1889. They averaged a l ...

died out in the late 19th century, apparently as the result of the introduction of alien mammals. The species is known to have existed only on Chichijima and another island, Nakōdo-jima. Chichijima, together with neighbouring Anijima and Ototojima, has been recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports populations of

Japanese wood pigeon The Japanese wood pigeon (''Columba janthina'') is a species of columbid bird. It is found in East Asia along shorelines of the Pacific's Korea Strait, Philippine Sea and East China Sea. They are believed to be the largest representative of the ...

s and

Bonin white-eye The Bonin white-eye (''Apalopteron familiare'') or is a small songbird endemic to the Bonin Islands (Ogasawara Islands) of Japan. It is the only species in the genus ''Apalopteron''. Its taxonomic affinities were a long-standing mystery and it ...

Green turtle consumption and preservation

The inhabitants of the island traditionally have caught and consumed

green turtles The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Chelonia''. Its range exten ...

as a source of

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, res ...

. Local restaurants serve turtle soup and

sashimi is a Japanese delicacy consisting of fresh raw fish or meat sliced into thin pieces and often eaten with soy sauce. Origin The word ''sashimi'' means "pierced body", i.e. " 刺身" = ''sashimi'', where 刺し = ''sashi'' (pierced, stu ...

in dishes. In the early 20th century, some 1000 turtles were captured per year and the population of turtles decreased.2006年度活動報告書
, NGO group Everlasting Nature Today in Chichijima, only one fisherman is allowed to catch turtles and the number taken is restricted to at most 135 per season. The Fisheries Agency and the

Tokyo Metropolitan Government The is the government of the Tokyo Metropolis. One of the 56 prefectures of Japan, the government consists of a popularly elected governor and assembly. The headquarters building is located in the ward of Shinjuku. The metropolitan governme ...

operate a conservation facility on the edge of Futami Harbor. Eggs are carefully planted in the shore and infant turtles are raised at the facility until they have reached a certain size, at which point they are released into the wild with an identification tag. Today, the number of green turtles has been stabilized and is increasing slowly.

Demographics

The original settlers were of Western and Polynesian origin. Their descendants are now known as '' Obeikei'' and have Western and Japanese names; they were required to have the latter since

. , most residents were of Yamato Japanese who came to the island after Japan took back control from the US in the 1970s.

Education

Ogasawara Village operates the island's public elementary and junior high schools.学校教育
." Ogasawara, Tokyo. Retrieved on 8 March 2018. * Ogasawara Municipal Ogasawara Junior High School (小笠原村立小笠原中学校) * Ogasawara Elementary School (小笠原小学校)

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education The Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education (東京都教育委員会 ''Tōkyō-to Kyōiku Iinkai'') is the board of education in Tokyo, Japan. The board directly manages all of the public high schools in all 23 special wards, the Wester ...

operates

Ogasawara High School is a public high school on Chichi-jima in Ogasawara, Tokyo, Japan. The school is a part of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education. The school is the sole public high school in the Ogasawara Islands The Bonin Islands, also kno ...

on Chichijima.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chichijima Bonin Islands Islands of Tokyo Micronesia Important Bird Areas of the Nanpo Islands